One of our family’s favorite things to do when we all get together is to play games. Board games, card games, word games, puzzles… You name it, we probably have the game. We’ve always played table games since our kids could first hold a deck of cards in their chubby little fists, but when our daughter-in-law joined our family, she introduced us to a whole new collection of board games. I don’t think a holiday or summer visit has happened that we didn’t eventually end up around the table with cards flying and dice rolling. It’s a great way to spend time laughing together, and a wonderful way to get to know people better in a friendly, comfortable setting.
l love to reflect that aspect of our family in my decorating. A good starting place for such a display was this narrow table in our kitchen/dining area, which is where we usually play games.
Games and game boards we actually use are displayed underneath the table for easy access (bonus, that Sequence board also hides the ugly lamp cord and plug-in behind the table.)
The clever Scrabble® “tiles” that spell out our family name were a gift from our youngest son and his wife. We thought they looked perfect propped atop this picture frame.
The drawer of this buffet beside the kitchen table also holds games. A banana-shaped pouch of letter tiles for a quick lunchtime game of Bananagrams® or Rory’s Story Cubes.
My little grandniece comes to visit me almost every Tuesday, and she always goes straight to this pine cupboard next to the kitchen, where her favorite activity awaits. This box of cardboard ABC tiles—like many of the games in our collection—was a garage sale find for a dollar.
Even my office window seat holds a little drawstring pouch of marbles that I bought with my grandkids in mind.
The activities you do together as a family are the memories they will carry into the future and into their own families. I love that games provide hours of laughter and bonding…good glue for making those memories stick.
What are some favorite games your family likes to play?
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Your home looks like FUN, Deborah! My daughter and her husband visited us for a long weekend last month and brought a box full of jig-saw puzzles. We had such fun working them.
I think this Christmas is the first in many years that we didn’t do a jigsaw. It might have had something to do with the toddlers running around this year. 😉
I love it! So clever. So much like my family. And Scrabble is big. Love the name tiles and cute things you put together. I think the most hilarious game we play is Balderdash. We have some nutty people who make up some crazy stuff. Pictionary is fun because even the smallest kids can play.
Once when one grandson was about 7, he picked a card to act out the word and it was a totally different word but we all died laughing. It was so fun. This is what we do after Thanksgiving dinner is over and cleaned up. Everyone is so far away and I miss it but when we do get together again it will be a blast! Thanks for the reminder.
Oh! We’ve played Balderdash, too…along with our made-up version that only requires a dictionary and pen and paper. Such fun! Love that story about your grandson acting out a totally different word. Those are the stories that become memories and get handed down through the generations!
Good idea-the do it yourself Balderdash. I forgot to mention the other game that the guys hated. Scattegories. If you said it had to be something in the ocean that begins with a “d” they would say dish for fish. Total brats. LOL. Gosh a lot of games I never heard of…time to shop!
Uno card game or puzzles
Yes, UNO! That’s one for all ages! And a whole tableful of people.
Um…. Do you have a few hours? LOL! I’m the gamemaster for my family and usually bring a box or crate filled with gaming goodies. Some of our favorites have been Zero, Munchkin, Ticket to Ride, Mystery of the Abbey, Betrayal at House on the Hill, plus a bunch more that I can’t remember off the top of my head.
Wow! We need to talk, John! We’ve only played Ticket to Ride and Mystery of the Abbey from your list! Sounds like we’re behind! Do you know Alhambra? That’s a fun one too. Our grown kids have gotten a few that were over my head! I forget the name of this one they like that Ken and I just shook our heads at all the nuances and rules. But mostly we’re up for trying a new game!
I’ve seen Alhambra played, but I’ve never played it myself. 🙂
My in-laws introduced us to Spinner Dominoes a few years ago. We play with them when we get together.
That’s a new one for me, Melinda! We’ll have to try it. Does it involve athletic prowess?? Sounds like it might require skills I no longer have. LOL!
Clue!! A very old one I haven’t played in years because we’re not good game players in this house. But I always liked that one as a child and young mom. Husband and I spent some time with Yahtzee last summer. The brainless game of chance played by candle light on our screened in porch provided a few fun evenings. Very cool home you’ve got there!
We never owned Clue when I was growing up, but a friend had it and I LOVED to go to their house to play! And Yahtzee! Who could forget that game! It’s even fun to play “solitaire.” 🙂
We love to play games! We play Dutch Blitz, Settlers of Cataan, Bananagrams, and Boggle. My grandchildren like In A Pickle, Clue, UNO, and Charades! There’s more, too!
Settlers of Cataan is the one I was trying to think of, Joyce! The one that was over my head! LOL! I don’t know about In A Pickle. Sounds worth checking out!
Love the cute photo of you and your grandkiddos playing a game, Deb – – so special.
My family LOVES playing games – – especially my middle daughter and her husband and my son.
A few of our many favorites include Sequence, Rummikub, and Phase 10 Masters edition (I’m a very non-competitive kind of person, but when we play Phase 10 my kiddos laugh because I get a bit competitive, LOL). 🙂
We also still love the good ol’ classic Monopoly too.
This makes me yearn to play one of those games right now – – if only I could somehow teach my cats to play. 😉
That’s so funny, Patti Jo, that Phase 10 brings out the competitive side of you! That’s perfectly okay when it’s a game! 😉
Our go-to game is Five Crowns. We also play Uno, Yahtzee, and various card games. I grew up in a card playing family and passed that love on to my daughters.
I’ve not heard of Five Crowns! Will have to check that out, Kathleen. We just find games such a great way to get to know people in a fun, non-threatening way…especially as we’ve added in-laws to the family.
We love playing Sequence and Mexican Train! Mostly when we go camping. I personally love playing Backgammon but I can’t get anyone in my family to play me. I go online and play with random people in a non-gambling format. I learned to play shortly after I read that Lucille Ball loved to play Backgammon, she was one of my “idols”.
I never knew that about Lucille Ball, Gail! Fascinating! And Sequence and Mexican Train are two of our very favorites!
We love games too, it’s a perfect time to connect as a family. One of our favorites is Qwirkle. I love your family name in Scrabble tiles!
Qwirkle is a new one to me also! Who knew there were SO many games in the world!? I’ll be checking that out, Merry! Thanks for commenting.
When I was a kid we played “Toma Todo,” a fun game where you spin a top and take/put in tokens depending on what it lands on. Now we play Imaginiff and SuperFight (and a handful of other board games and video games).
Sandra, those are ALL new to me! Imaginiff sounds promising since “imagine if…” is the question a writers asks every day! 🙂
Love seeing your game-filled home and table, Deb. We like Sequence and SkipBo a lot.
Sequence is a favorite at our house, too, Carol. Haven’t played SkipBo in a long time, but I think the grandkids are old enough for that now! We’ll have to get a new set!
Apples to Apples is a fun game for friends and family. All ages can play – the young ones have some crazy mental connections! I’ve heard of a new game I’m longing to try – The Farm Game – kind of like Monopoly, I’ve been told, only with a farm. Hmmm.
Oh! We had some friends who had the Farm Game. Being a farmer’s daughter, I REALLY ought to try that one!